The present invention refers to a new class of microstrip antennas with a multifrequency behaviour based on stacking several parasitic patches underneath an active upper patch.
An antenna is said to be multifrequency when the radioelectrical performance (impedance, polarization, pattern, etc.) is invariant for different operating frequencies. The concept of multifrequency antennas derives of frequency independent antennas. Frequency independent antennas were first proposed by V. H. Rumsey (V. H. Rumsey, “Frequency Independent Antennas”, 1957 IRE National Convention Record, pt. 1, pp. 114–118) and can be defined as a family of antennas whose performance (impedance, polarization, pattern . . . ) remains the same for any operating frequency. Rumsey work led to the development of the log-periodic antenna and the log-periodic array. Different groups of independent antennas can be found in the literature as the self-scalable antennas based directly in Rumsey's Principle as spiral antennas (J. D. Dyson, “The Unidirectional Equiangular Spiral Antenna”, IRE Trans. Antennas Propagation, vol. AP-7, pp. 181–187, October 1959) and self-complementary antennas based on Babinet's Principle. This principle was extended later on by Y. Mushiake in 1948.
An analogous set of antennas are multifrequency antennas where the antenna behaviour is the same but at a discrete set of frequencies. Multilevel antennas such as those described in Patent Publication No. WO01/22528 “Multilevel Antennas” are an example of a kind of antennas which due to their geometry they behave in a similar way at several frequency bands, that is, they feature a multifrequency (multiband) behavior.
In this case, the concept of multifrequency antennas is applied in an innovative way to microstrip antennas, obtaining this way a new generation of multifrequency microstrip patch antennas. The multifrequency behaviour is obtained by means of parasitic microstrip patches placed at different heights under the active patch. Some of the advantages of microstrip patch antennas with respect to other antenna configurations are: lightweight, low volume, low profile, simplicity and, low fabrication cost.
Some attempts to design microstrip patch antennas appear in the literature by means of adding several parasitic patches in a two dimensional, co-planar configuration (F. Croq, D. M. Pozar, “Multifrequency Operation of Microstrip Antennas Using Aperture Coupled Parallel Resonators”, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, vol. 40, noo11, pp. 1367–1374, November 1992). Also, several examples of broadband or multiband antennas consisting on a set of parasitic layers on top of an active patch are described in the literature (see for instance J. Anguera, C. Puente, C. Borja, “A Procedure to Design Stacked Microstrip Patch Antennas Based on a Simple Network Model”, Microwave and Opt. Tech. Letters, Vol. 30, no. 3, Wiley, June, 2001); however it should be stressed that in that case the parasitic layers are placed on top of the fed patch (the active patch), while in the present invention the patches are placed underneath said active patch, yielding to a more compact and mechanically stable design with yet still featuring a multiband or broadband behavior.
It is interesting noticing that any of the patch geometries described in the prior art can be used in an innovative way for either the active or parasitic patches disclosed in the present invention. An example of prior art geometries are square, circular, rectangular, triangular, hexagonal, octagonal, fractal, space-filling (“Space-Filling Miniature Antennas”, Patent Publication No. WO01/54225) or again, said Multilevel geometries (WO01/22528).
On the other hand, an Space-Filling Curve (hereafter SFC) is a curve that is large in terms of physical length but small in terms of the area in which the curve can be included. More precisely, the following definition is taken in this document for a space-filling curve: a curve composed by at least ten segments which are connected in such a way that each segment forms an angle with their neighbours, that is, no pair of adjacent segments define a larger straight segment, and wherein the curve can be optionally periodic along a fixed straight direction of space if, and only if, the period is defined by a non-periodic curve composed by at least ten connected segments and no pair of said adjacent and connected segments defines a straight longer segment. Also, whatever the design of such SFC is, it can never intersect with itself at any point except the initial and final point (that is, the whole curve can be arranged as a closed curve or loop, but none of the parts of the curve can become a closed loop). A space-filling curve can be fitted over a flat or curved surface, and due to the angles between segments, the physical length of the curve is always larger than that of any straight line that can be fitted in the same area (surface) as said space-filling curve. Additionally, to properly shape the ground-plane according to the present invention, the segments of the SFC curves included in said ground-plane must be shorter than a tenth of the free-space operating wavelength.